MSI Center RGB w/G442

snmavronis

I've had an ongoing issue with MSI Center not starting with Windows 11 Pro. In Task Manager Startup it shows as disabled. I can change it to enabled but it goes disabled again soon after. I remember when I first got my G442 in late March '23 it was launching on startup so I suspect a Windows Update or configuration or group policy change - I had to mess with that originally because my Windows Update options were greyed out which is silly because this is a single home PC. But after setting my preferred blue 0-0-255 color for the fans and CPU cooler in Mystic Light it does hold the color when I boot up my system so no issue there. Also this past weekend I had to take my PC to Micro Center because the PSU died and they replaced it with the same brand and model. After getting it back I noticed a RGB change with the fans. Everything is fine but when I shutdown my PC before going to bed I notice the "blue" fans flicker red colors before turning off. It doesn't seem to hurt anything and stays blue when restarting, but I'm curious as to what has changed.

PowerSpec_MikeW

@snmavronis

I'd suggest doing a complete uninstall and reinstall of MSI Center if it's stuck as disabled. I can probably script something specifically for MSI Center but I haven't seen issue like this before.

As for the flickering red, I'm not sure. The RGB's for the case fans run through a controller on the back of the PC, which is powered by SATA power from the PSU. I'm assuming this is a minor issue with how the new PSU is handling current to the RGB controller during shutdown. It doesn't sound like any cause for concern.

snmavronis

I just uninstalled the MSI Center and SDK, plus I ran MSI's Clean Center Master before reinstalling MSI Center again. I only use it to manage motherboard and fan RGB. Before reinstalling I did reboot and shutdown again and the color flicker still happens. I don't know, maybe it was happening all the time before and I just didn't pay attention or worry about it. It seems to not be any concern at least. Also even though I told MSI Center to load on startup it still shows disabled under Task Manager Startup Apps. Just as well since it does take a bit to load, so I changed it not to load with Windows. I can still run it manually as needed. So far the replaced PSU seems good and my system is still under warranty until about the end of March 2024 in any case.

PowerSpec_MikeW

@snmavronis

I think you're fine. The issue with not being able to enable MSI Center is odd. You should be able to and it should run quietly in the system tray on startup. Do you have anything that would automatically disable it? Like any type of optimization tool? AVAST Clean Up is one that comes to mind.

snmavronis

No optimization tool. I even checked the Windows Firewall and MSI Center isn't being blocked. I use Windows Defender and have a lifetime subscription to Malwarebytes and they aren't blocking it. I'm still curious why I seem to be under a group policy as if this is a work computer. Here are some screen clips from my Windows Update panels. You can see the "Receive updates for other Microsoft products" button appears enabled but greyed out for example and there are possible "organization" policies set on my PC and I did not join the Windows Insider Program. Maybe it's just how Windows 11 Pro works vs Home edition:

PowerSpec_MikeW

@snmavronis

Alright. Well we can set it manually as a startup app, but we don't want that. We want it to run as a service in the background, so that it's not in your face on startup, but it runs, so when you access it, it's instant.

Please download Autoruns from Microsoft: https://download.sysinternals.com/files/Autoruns.zip

Run it and screenshot what you have under Services.